Peruvian Ceviche

Prep time: 2 hours+


Ingredients:

• 2-5 lbs tilapia filet
• 5-8 whole fresh limes (not the lime juice bottle!!!)
• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 large red onion
• Choclo Corn (Giant Inca Corn usually frozen, find in Spanish supermarkets -- if you can't find it, regular corn will be ok!)
• Cilantro
• 1 Habanero (if you're insane and love spicy) or jalapeno/serrano (very optional)

Materials:

• Large dish
• Chef knife

*Note: Before you undertake this, I recommend you get very *fresh* ingredients from somewhere you trust. Cook it immediately, don't let it sit in your fridge for a few days. Like sushi, rare steak, or any other meat.. if you eat undercooked food you take the risk of getting sick. I am not responsible for if you get sick, just sharing a recipe. Lime juice has a high acidity ~2-2.3 pH and will "cook" your fish.. by that I mean it will denature (unravel) the proteins just as heat will do and soften the texture of the meat. Lime juice will also kill certain bacteria well, but is not known or researched to completely kill them or to be as good as cooking your meat. If you want to be safe for sure, go ahead and cook the meat first or get sushi grade tilapia. HERE is an journal article from PubMed about lime juice and its effect on killing bacteria in this dish.

Directions:

1. Chop fresh tilapia into 2 in x 1 in chunks and place into a large dish. Chop onions into thin slices and add onto tilapia in bowl. Squeeze 5-8 limes into fish and stir. If you love spicy, add a habenero or chopped jalapeno/serrano pepper to mix (note: I do not do this and wouldn't survive doing this). Place into fridge covered for at least 2 hours and stir every 30 mins - 1 hour. The fish should be a soft texture and white now instead of the pinkish raw color.
2. Let corn defrost and boil for 5 mins. Place in bowl to cool.
   Wash potato and boil for 20-30 mins until soft. Once cooked, let cool on countertop and peel skin off (easier to do once cooked). Chop into large chunks, for ex. one potato into 6-8 segments.
3. Once tilapia is finished in the fridge, remove and place with juice onto a serving plate. Rip cilantro into smaller pieces and garnish top of tilapia. Add a scoop of corn, side of sweet potato.
4. The dish is meant to be served with the lime juice. Many people drink this (good luck!) and its "fondly" called "Tiger's Milk." Enjoy! The sweet potato will help cut the strong flavor of the lime/onion mix.